Lino DiSalvo Moves from Disney to Paramount Animation

Paramount Animation recently announced that animator Lino DiSalvo has been named as the studio’s new creative director. DiSalvo comes to Paramount after having spent the last 16 years at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Most recently, he was head of animation for Disney’s mega-hit Frozen.

DiSalvo is tasked with helping the Paramount Animation team build a world-class feature animation studio. About his new job, DiSalvo said:

“I couldn’t pass up this amazing opportunity to work with the absolute all-star team of artists at Paramount Animation. The possibilities for reinventing and reimagining CG feature animation are virtually endless, and I am excited to be at Paramount helping to forge that incredible, new future.”

Also working at Paramount Animation is former Disney animator and Paperman director John Kahrs who is directing a new feature there entitled Shedd. According to this tweet, former Pixar animator and director Teddy Newton, director of the Pixar short Day & Night, is at Paramount as well.

Currently, Paramount Animation has two announced films in production with other projects, like Shedd, in various stages of development. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, directed by Paul Tibbit (SpongeBob SquarePants TV series) and Mike Mitchell (Shrek Forever After), is scheduled to be released in February 2015. Monster Trucks, directed by Chris Wedge (Ice Age, Robots, Epic), is scheduled for May 2015.